John elmer keller



J. E. KELLER.

WELL cAslNG RIPPE'R.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-7.1922- lA'T/,SSL Patented May 23, 1922.

INVENTOR lUNITED STATES JOI-IN ELMER KELLER, OF INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS,

WELL-CASING RPPER.

Specification ollLetters Eatent.

Patented May 23, 19.22.

Application :filed January 7, 1922. Serial No. 527,633.

'To allzu/710m, t may concern.'

Be it known thatI, JOHN ELMER KELLER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Independence, county of Montgomery,

State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement inl/Vell-Casing Rippers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in well casing rippers in which ablade or knife is held against the well casing by means of waterpressure and driven into the well casing and downward by the weight ofthe drill-pipe on which it is used. It is designed for use with rotarydrilling tools and for the purpose of splitting, ripping, perforating,or parting casing in wells at a considerable depth from the surface. lattain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a. side elevation of my invention,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, part in section, taken at ninety degreesfrom that shown in Fig. 2 and showing also, drill-pipe, attached to thetop of the tool, and the casing. Similar letters refer to similar partsin each view.

The lower half of the cylindrical block a is slotted to receive the flatblade or knife which swings freely upon the pin c. To the side of theknife is held the vane or blade CZ by the screw e. Into the top of theblock a, is screwed the hollow tube f, on which slides the cylindricalblock g. The block g is threaded on the upper end to fit an ordinarydrillpipe coupling so that it may be screwed to the bottom of thedrill-pipe. On the upper end of the tube f, is screwed a collar 71, toprevent the tube f from slipping entirely through the block g. Or thecollar may be an enlargement of the end of the tube f. ln the block a,is a passageway or watercourse j connecting the inside of the tube fwith the small orifice We. The hole left by the drill in making thepassageway j is plugged with the plug m,

When it is desired to split or rip the casing in the lower half of acoupling, so that the casing may be pulled apart at that point, the toolis lowered into the well on the bottom of the drill-pipe in the positionshown in F ig. l, the knife ranging vertically by its own weight withthe `point downward and the vane d near the orilice f When the tool hasnearly reached the depth in the well, at which it is desired to part thecasing, water is forced down through the drill-pipe by means of thepumps used in drilling` through the tub-e f and out through the orifice7c, striking the vane d and driving it downward to the position shown inF ig. 3; thus holding` 'the knife against the casing. lVhen the toolreaches a casing coupling, the point of the knife Z2 catches upon thetop of the joint of casing below. As the block g descends, sliding onthe tube f, it strikes the top of the block a as shown in Fig. 3. Thedrill-pipe is then raised less than the length of the tube f and letfall, the block g driving the block a downward and with it the knifethus splitting or ripping the casing. The tool is then raised above thecoupling, turned, and the process repeated at several points in thecoupling. This will allow the coupling to be pulled off the joint ofcasing below it.

ln order to use the tool asa ripper or perforator, when it is desired.to rip or perforate the casing at some point other than at a coupling,it is only necessary to make the point of the knife 7; very sharp andapply enough water pressure through the orifice le to hold the knifeagainst thc casing firmly enough to cause it to catch and enter thecasing at the point desired. The ripping or perforating is then done asbefore by raising and dropping the drillpipe, a process commonly knownamong rotary drillers as spudding.

Having thus described my invention I clain1- The combination, in awell-casing ripper, of a block slotted so as to carry a knife or blade,a knife or blade hinged upon a pin and carrying a projection or vane, apin, a means of holding the point of said knife or blade against thecasing, a water-course or channel through said block, there being anorifice directing the flow of water against said vane or projection, athreaded recess in i the top of said block, a hollow tube one end ofwhich is threaded to screw into said recess and the other end of whichis threaded to receive :L collar, zt collar to screw on said tube, andaJ second block threaded on one end to receive a drill-pipe coupling andhaving :t hole through it longitudinally to rev H. P. HALL, O. S.OBRIEN.

